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CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 

OR 

CONCERNING HUMAN NEED 

A LETTER ADDRESSED TO THE SENATE OF BRUGES 

BY 

JUAN-LUIS VIVES 

JANUARY 6, 1526 



Translated by Margaret M. Sherwood 

From the original Latin, as found in Volume IV, pp. 420-494, of 

the complete works of Vives, edited by Gregory Majan, 

and printed at Valencia in the year 1783. 



price: twenty-five cents 



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UNITED CHARITIES BUILDING 
NEW YORK CITY 

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Copyright, 1917, by 
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INTRODUCTION 

JUAN-LUIS VIVES 

TO THE COUNCILLORS AND THE SENATE OF BRUGES, 

GKEETING: 

It is not meet, says Cicero, for the traveller and 
the stranger to be inquisitive in a foreign country. 
And he is right ; for curiosity in regard to the affairs 
of others is always odious. But concern for their 
wellbeing and friendly counsel are not blameworthy. 
For the law of nature does not allow that anything 
human should be foreign to man, and the grace of 
Christ, like a fast glue, has cemented all men together. 
Besides, although it is the country of my adoption, 
yet I am in truth bound to this city by ties as strong 
as those which bind me to my native Valencia. Nor 
do I call it other than Fatherland, for I have dwelt 
here full fourteen years, and though my stay has 
not been uninterrupted, yet I am accustomed to re- 
turn hither as to my own home. I like the equity of 
your government, the education and courteousness of 
your citizens, the unexampled tranquility among you, 
and your justice celebrated among the nations. 

Furthermore, I married here. Nor do I wish to 
change my determination to spend in this city, and 
in no other, the remaining days of life which Christ 
in his mercy shall vouchsafe me. I consider myself a 
citizen of it, and toward its citizens I am of the same 
mind as toward brothers. Now the sufferings and 



4 CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 

wants of a great number of them have impelled me 
to write how I think they can be relieved; which 
indeed I was asked to do, some time ago when I was 
in England, by the Lord Pratenses, your Burgomas- 
ter, who deliberates much and often, even as he ought, 
concerning the welfare of this city. 

To you this work is inscribed, both because you are 
strongly inclined to beneficence and works of charity 
(as the great multitude of destitute bears witness, 
which surges hither as if to a source of aid ready 
prepared for the needy), and also because, since it is 
fundamental that there should be in every city a 
place in which alms are given and received, and that 
love should take root in mutual helpfulness and the 
fellowship of men be strengthened, it ought to be the 
duty of the public officials to take pains to see that 
men help one another, that no one is oppressed, no 
one wronged by an unjust condemnation, and that the 
strong come to the assistance of the weak, in order 
that the harmony of the united body of citizens may 
grow in love day by day and endure forever. And 
even as it is disgraceful for the head of the household 
in a luxurious home to allow any one to suffer hunger 
or go in nakedness or rags, so in a wealthy city it is 
not meet that the magistrates should suffer any of the 
citizens to be oppressed by hunger and want. May 
it please you to read this, or if not, at least to consider 
the matter itself most carefully, you who investigate 
with so much concern the lawsuit of a private citizen 
in which no more than a thousand florins is involved. 
May all prosperity and good fortune attend you 
and your city. 

Bruges, 6 January, 1526. 



SUMMARY OF BOOK I 

[To economize space, the following brief argument of Book I is 
presented, instead of a full translation, since this part of the trea- 
tise, though interesting, is more familiar in substance, and not so 
distinctive a contribution, as the practical scheme of caring for the 
poor which is discussed in Book II.] 

Vives begins by reviewing human needs and dis- 
cussing the relative value of different forms of help. 
1 For there are some/' he says, " who think that the 
only thing to be given or accepted that is at all in the 
nature of a benefaction, is money." He himself, how- 
ever, considers moral excellence, character (virtus) 
of first importance; next intelligence, learning, and 
good sense; third health, " that the body may serve 
the mind "; and only at the end of the list, though 
he by no means despises them, does he place wealth 
and resources. Benefactions, therefore, he rates ac- 
cording as they contribute to these ends. 

After this he shows that it is natural for man to 
bestow kindness, but that there are certain influences 
which tend to restrain our benefactions : the idea that 
we are not really going to help our beneficiaries ; the 
fear that we may be injuring ourselves or doing an 
injustice to our children and relatives; the vices of 
pride, envy, extravagance, and ostentatious display — 
which even outlast life and find perpetuation in mon- 
uments of silver, gold, and marble. 

Finally, by citations from the Scriptures and the 
Christian fathers, and to some extent also from the 
classic philosophers, though to them he attaches less 
authority, he expounds the duty of man to care for 
his less fortunate fellows, and the spirit in which 
charity should be given. 



BOOK II 



V 



CHAPTER I 

TO WHAT EXTENT THE RULER OP THE CITT SHOULD 
CARE FOR THE POOR 

Thus far I have spoken of- the duty of the indi- 
vidual; hereafter I shall discuss what befits the state 
and the ruler thereof, who is in it wl»t^»m 
the body. For as the soul animates and quickens not 
one part or another, hut the whole body, so the gov- 
ernment may neglect nothing within the ento cam- 
pus of the state. For those who care only for the 
rich and despise the poor, act just like a physician 
who should not think it of much importance to heal 
Z hands or the feet because they are at a stance 
r m the heart; but even as this would cause serious 
harm and suffering to the whole man, so also m the 
commonwealth the weaker may not be neglected with- 
oTperil to the more powerful ; for the former driven 
by necessity, sometimes steal. The judge thinks it 
unworthy of cognizance-but that is a small matter- 
Ct t^poor envy the rich and are inceW and 
indignant that they have abundance to lavish on 
£ste g rs, dogs, harlots, asses pack-horse, .and ele- 
phants- that in truth they themselves have not the 
iTrewithal to feed their little hungering cMdren 
while their fellow-citizens revel splendidly and nso 
Tently in the riches which have been wrung from them 
and others like them. It is almost incredrble .how 
many civil wars such voices have stirred up among all 
nations, wars in which the -J** ' «%* £ 
burning with hatred, puts forth trial c >f its ury firs 
of all upon the rich. No other reason did the Gracchi 



CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 7 

allege, no other Lucius Catiline, for the civil discord 
which they fomented — not to mention uprisings in 
our own era and in our own country. Indeed, it will 
not be irrelevant to insert here a passage from the 
oration of Isocrates called the Areopagiticus, which 
deals with the customs of the Athenians. He says : 

In a similar manner they behaved in their relations 
towards one another. For they were not only in accord 
upon public matters, but in regard to their private life 
they showed such consideration for one another as befits 
men of sense and members of one and the same father- 
land. Far from the poorer citizens envying the richer, 
they were as anxious about the wealthy families as 
about their own, considering their prosperity to be a 
source of advantage to themselves ; while those who were 
possessed of means not only did not look down upon 
those who were in a humbler position, but considering it 
disgraceful to themselves that the citizens should be in 
want, relieved their needs, handing over plots of land to 
some at a moderate rental, sending others out on busi- 
ness, and advancing capital to others for other occupa- 
tions. For they were not afraid either of losing all, or 
with great difficulty recovering only a part of what had 
been lent, but felt as safe about the money put out as if 
it had been stored away at home.* 

Thus Isocrates. 

A common peril besets the citizens from contact 
with disease. How often do we observe that one man 
has brought into the community some great and dread 
sickness, from which many others perish — the plague, 
syphilis, and such like? What sort of situation is 
it that in every church, especially at the established 
high festivals, one is obliged to enter the sanctuary 
between two lines of sick, cancerous, ulcerous, and 
persons afflicted with other diseases which it would be 
inappropriate to speak of here, — and this the only 
entrance for boys, girls, old men, and delicate women ? 



* From the English translation by J. H. Freese. 



8 CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 

Think you they are all so made of iron that they are 
not affected at such a sight, when they go in fasting, 
especially since ulcers of this nature are not only 
forced upon the eyes, but also assail the nostrils, the 
mouth, and are almost communicated to the hands 
and the body of those passing by? So shameless is 
the begging. I will not discuss the fact that some 
people mingle with the crowd who have come straight 
from the side of one dead from the plague. 

These two questions may not be neglected by offi- 
cials of the state : how diseases may be cured and how 
their spreading may be checked. Moreover, it is not 
the part of a wise government, solicitous for the pub- 
lic weal, to leave so large a part of the community not 
only useless, but actually harmful both to itself and to 
others. For when the general bounty has been ex- 
hausted, some, since they have not the means of sub- 
sistence, are driven to robbery in the city and on the 
high-roads; others stealthily commit burglary; the 
women who are of suitable age, casting aside modesty, 
are not able to keep their chastity, but put it on sale 
for a trifle, nor can they be persuaded to abandon this 
vicious practice; the old women straightway take to 
pandering, and sorcery as a furtherance to pander- 
ing ; the little children of the poor are most viciously 
taught; the poor themselves with their children, cast 
down before the sanctuaries or wandering from place 
to place begging, do not participate in the sacraments 
and hear no sermons, and we know not according to 
what law or by what conventions they live, nor what 
are their religious beliefs. Verily the control of the 
church has relaxed to such a point that nothing is 
done gratuitously. They deprecate the name of sell- 



CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 9 

ing, yet they force people to pay. Even the bishop 
of the parish does not consider that sheep so shorn 
belong to his fold and pasture. 

Thus there is no one to see that these beggars con- 
fess, that they partake with others of the Lord's table. 
And since they never receive any instruction, they 
inevitably have very false standards and lead most 
irregular lives; and if it happens in some way that 
they rise to affluence, they are intolerable because of 
their mean and low training. Hence arise those vices 
I enumerated a short time ago, which are not to be 
imputed so much to them as, ordinarily, to the govern- 
ment, w T hich does not better provide for the com- 
munity. For they have no conception of the duty of 
a government who wish to limit it to the settling of 
disputes over money or to the punishment of crim- 
inals. On the contrary, it is much more important 
for the magistrates to devote their energy to the 
producing of good citizens than to the punishment 
and restraint of evil-doers. For how much less need 
would there be to punish, if these matters were 
rightly looked after beforehand! The Eomans in 
ancient times made such provision for their citizens 
that no one needed to beg, and it was prohibited by 
the Twelve Tables. The Athenians took the same 
precaution. The Lord gave a special law to the peo- 
ple of Judea, harsh, no doubt, and severe to a tribe of 
such temper ; yet in Deuteronomy he commands them 
to take careful measures that, as far as it shall be 
within their power, there may be no poor or destitute 
man among them, especially in that year of rest from 
labor, acceptable to the Lord, in which ever live those 
for whom the Lord Jesus was buried, with the law 



io CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 

and ceremonials and the old man, and has risen again 
in newness of life and of spirit. Surely it is a shame 
and disgrace to us Christians, to whom nothing has 
been more explicitly commanded than charity — and 
I am inclined to think that is the one injunction — 
that we meet everywhere in our cities so many poor 
men and beggars. Whithersoever you turn you en- 
counter poverty and distress, and those who are com- 
pelled to hold out their hands for alms. Why is it 
not true that, just as everything in the state is re- 
stored which is subject to the ravages of time and 
fortune — such as walls, ditches, ramparts, streams, 
institutions, customs, and the laws themselves — so it 
would be suitable to aid in meeting that primary 
obligation of giving, which has suffered damage in 
various ways? Certain salutary measures have been 
devised by very eminent men who have sought to 
further the welfare of the state : taxes have been 
eased, public lands turned over to the poor to culti- 
vate, certain surplus funds have been distributed by 
the state — things which we have seen even in our own 
time. But measures of this nature need special con- 
ditions, which rarely arise in these days. Eecourse 
must therefore be had to other remedies, more suit- 
able and of more lasting effect. 

CHAPTER TT 

REGISTRATION OF THE POOR 

Someone may ask me : How do you propose to 
relieve so great a multitude? If true charity dwelt 
in our hearts, if it were really a law unto us — though 
compulsion is not an element that concerns one who 
loves — it would make all tilings common, nor would 



CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR " 

a man regard the distress of another otherwise than 
his own. As it is, no one extends his interest beyond 
his home, and sometimes not beyond his own chamber, 
nor even beyond himself, while many are not suffi- 
ciently faithful to parents and children and brothers 
and wife. Therefore, whenever human remedies must 
be employed, especially among those for whom the 
divine commands have too little weight/I propose the 
following plan. 

Some of the poor live in those institutions com- 
monly called hospitals (Greek Ptochotrophia,— but I 
will use the more familiar term) ; others beg publicly ; 
still others bear their hardships as best they can, each 
one in his own home. I call " hospitals " those places 
where the sick are fed and cared for, where a certain 
number of paupers is supported, where boys and girls 
are reared, where abandoned infants are nourished, 
where the insane are confined, and where the blind 
dwell,//L/et 'the governors of the state realize that all 
these institutions are a part of their responsibility. 

Let no one seek to evade the stipulations of the 
founders; they shall remain inviolable. Verbal ex- 
pressions should not be weighed in these matters, but 
justice, as in deeds of trust, and the intention, as m 
wills. And on this point there is no doubt it was their 
desire that the funds left by them should be dis- 
tributed for the best possible objects and used in the 
worthiest place. They were not so much concerned 
by whom this should be done, or how, as that it should 

be done. 

In the next place, there is nothing so free in the 
state that it is not subject to inquiry by those who 
administer the government; for it does not constitute 



CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 

freedom, to yield no obedience to common magis- 
trates • but rather an encouragement to savagery and 
opportunity for widespread licence in whatever direc- 
tion a whim may lead. Nor can any one remove his 
property from the oversight and control of the state, 
unless he gives up his citizenship. Nor indeed can 
he free his own life, which is of more consequence 
and dearer to everyone than property, especially since 
everyone has acquired his property with the help ^ot 
the state, as if it were a gift, and can keep and hold it 
only by the help of the state. 

Therefore/let the Senators, by twos, with a secre- 
tary, visit each of these homes, and inspect it, and 
write a full account of its condition, of the number 
of its inmates and their names, likewise from what 
cause each one has come there. Let all these thing 
be reported to the Councillors and the Senate m 

Let those who suffer poverty at home be registered 
both they and their children, by two Senators for each 
parish ; their needs ascertained, in what manner they 
have lived hitherto, and by what ill chance they have 
fallen into poverty. It will be easy to learn from the 
neighbors what sort of men they are, how they live 
and what their habits are. Evidence about one poor 
person should not be taken from another, for he 
would not be free from jealousy. Let the Councillors 
and the Senate be informed of all these things If 
any man suddenly fall into some ill fortune let him 
notify the Senate through some Senator, and let his 
case be decided according to his condition and cir- 
cumstances. V.,.1 

Then in regard to the beggars who wander about 



CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 



13 



with no fixed dwelling places: let those who are in 
health declare their name and the reason for their 
mendicancy in the presence of the Senate, in some 
open place or vacant lot, that their filth may not pol- 
lute the Senate chamber; let those who are sick do 
likewise in the presence of two or four Senators and 
a physician, that the eyes of the Senate may be spared. 
Let witnesses be sought by them to testify in regard 
to their manner of life. 

Upon those whom they appoint to make these ex- 
aminations and perform these duties, let the Senate 
confer the authority to coerce and exact obedience, 
even to the point of imprisonment, that the Senate 
may have knowledge of those who show themselves 
refractory. 

CHAPTER III 

BY WHAT MEANS THE NECESSITIES OF LIFE MAY BE 
PROVIDED FOR ALL THESE DEPENDENTS 

Before everything else this principle must be ac- 
cepted, which the Lord imposed upon the human race 
as a punishment for its sin : that each man should eat 
bread that is the fruit of his own labor. When I say 
' < eat " or " nourished " or " supported " I do not 
mean to imply food alone, but clothes, shelter, fuel, 
candles; in fine, everything which is involved in the 
sustenance of the body. 

Let no one among the poor, therefore, be idle, 
provided of course he is fit for work by his age and 
the condition of his health. The Apostle Paul writes 
to the Thessalonians : ' ' For even when we were with 
you, this we commanded you, If any will not work, 
neither let him eat. For we hear of some that walk 



14 CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 

among you disorderly, that work not at all, but are 
busybodies. Now them that are such we command 
and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ, that with quiet- 
ness they work, and eat their own bread." And the 
Psalmist promises a twofold felicity, in this life and 
in the next, to him who has eaten out of the labor of 
his own hands. Wherefore it must not be permitted 
that anyone live idle in the state, in which, as in a 
well-ordered home, everyone ought to have a task. It 
is an ancient maxim : ' ' By doing nothing men learn 
to do evil." 

Health and age must be taken into consideration ; 
but in order that you may not be imposed upon by a 
pretense of sickness or infirmity — which not infre- 
quently happens — let the opinion of physicians be 
sought, and let impostors be punished. Of the able- 
bodied vagrants the foreign-born should be returned 
to their native country — which indeed is provided for 
in the imperial law — with travelling money, for it 
would be inhuman to send a destitute man on a jour- 
ney without any money, and would be nothing less 
than commanding him to rob. But if they are from 
villages or towns afflicted with war, then the teaching 
of Paul must be borne in mind, that among those who 
have been baptized in the blood of Christ there is 
neither Greek nor Barbarian nor Gaul nor Flamand, 
but a new creature ; and they must be treated even 
as, if they were native-born. 

Should the native poor be asked whether they have 
learned a trade? Yes; and those who have not, if 
they are of suitable age, should be taught the one to 
which they say they are most strongly inclined, pro- 
vided it is feasible. Tf it is not feasible, let them be 



CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 



IS 



taught some similar trade yji or example, let him who 
cannot sew garments sew what they call caligas (sol- 
diers' boots). But if this trade is too difficult, or he 
is too slow in learning, let an easier one be assigned 
to him, all the way down to those which anyone can 
learn thoroughly in a few days: such as digging, 
drawing water, bearing loads, pushing a wheel-bar- 
row, attending on magistrates, running errands, bear- 
ing letters or packets, driving horses. 
/ Even those w T ho have dissipated their fortunes in 
riotous living — by gambling, harlots, extravagance, 
and gluttony — must be relieved, for no one must die 
of hunger. But to them more irksome tasks should be 
assigned and smaller rations, that they may be an 
example to others, and may repent of their former 
life and may not relapse easily into ^the same vices, 
being restrained both by lack of food and by the 
severity of their tasks. They must not die of hunger, 
but they must feel its pangs. 

There are plenty of workshops in which they may 
find employment. The wool weavers of Armentium, 
nay, almost all craftsmen, complain of the scarcity 
of workmen, and the silk weavers of Bruges would 
hire almost any boys for turning certain little wheels, 
to each of whom they would pay a stuferus daily, 
more or less, besides board. And they cannot find 
boys to do this, because their parents assert that the 
children bring home more from begging. 

In the name of the state/let a certain number of 
those who cannot find any work by themselves be 
assigned to each artisan. If anyone has progressed 
far enough in his trade let him open a workshop. 
Both to these and to those to whom the magistrates 



16 CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 

have assigned apprentices let contracts be given for 
making the numerous things which the state uses for 
public purposes : such as pictures, statues, tapestries, 
sewers, ditches, buildings, and the things which the 
hospitals need, /j As 'the funds (of the hospitals) were 
originally given for the poor, let them be spent among 
the poor. I would give like counsel to bishops, col- 
leges, and abbots, but we will write to them at an- 
other time and I hope they will sometime do this of 
their own accord, even if I do not urge them. 

As to those who have not yet been provided for 
with respect to either a patron or a home, — let them 
be maintained from alms temporarily in some place, 
but let them not idle meanwhile nor learn slothfulness 
through inactivity. In homes of this nature let break- 
fast or supper be given to healthy vagabonds, and 
also as much travelling money as shall be sufficient 
to take them to the next city which lies on their way. 

In the hospitals, let the able-bodied who stick there 
like drones, living by the sweat of others, depart and 
be put to work, unless because of some right, such as 
the jus gentilitium* it is lawful for them to remain 
there : for example, those to whom this privilege has 
been bequeathed by the bounty of ancestors or who 
have made over their own property to the institution. 
In that case they should be compelled to work in the 
hospitals, that the fruit of their labor may be common 
to all. If anyone who is well and strong ask that he 
be allowed to remain because of his love for the home 
and for his old companions, grant him that favor only 
on the same condition. Let no one be attracted by 



* The privileges one enjoys because of bis connection with a 
family or ;i gens: e.g., sacerdotia gentiUtia — privilege of the clergy. 



17 



CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 

reason of the money which was contributed in times 
past for these purposes. 

For there are those who from servants have become 
masters, and there are women living delicately in 
splendor and luxury who were originally admitted 
to perform works of piety, but who now, having 
thrust out the poor or keeping them grudgingly, are 
become haughty mistresses. Let this office be taken 
away from them, that they grow not fat from the 
substance of the emaciated poor. Let them perform 
that duty which they came thither to do. Let them 
be intent upon relieving the weak, like those widows 
of the early church whom the Apostles praise so 
highly. In the time they have left let them read, spin, 
weave; let them occupy themselves with some good 
and honest work — which Jerome enjoins upon even 
the richest and noblest matrons. 

Nor would I allow the blind either to sit idle or to 
wander around in idleness. There are a great many 
things at which they may employ themselves. Some 
are suited to letters; let them study, for in some of 
them we see an aptitude for learning by no means to 
be despised. Others are suited to the art of music; 
let them sing, pluck the lute, blow the flute. Let 
others turn wheels and work the treadmills ; tread the 
wine-presses ; blow the bellows in the smithies. We 
know the blind can make little boxes and chests, fruit 
baskets, and cages. Let the blind women spin and 
wind yarn. Let them not be willing to sit idle and 
seek to avoid work ; it is easy enough to find employ- 
ment for them. Laziness and a love of ease are the 
reasons for their pretending they can not do any- 
thing, not feebleness of body. 



18 CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 

The infirm and old, too, should have light tasks 
furnished to them, suited to their age and strength. 
No one is so feeble that he completely lacks strength 
for doing anything. So it will be brought about that 
the thoughts and evil affections of the mind which 
arise in the idle will be kept away from those who 
are employed and busy with work. Then, when all 
such bloodsuckers have been eliminated, let the re- 
sources of each hospital be examined, taking into ac- 
count expenses and annual revenues and the money 
on hand. Let the treasure chambers and superfluous 
ornaments be removed; they are playthings for chil- 
dren or misers and of no profit to good Christians. 

Then send to each one of them as many of the sick 
poor as it shall seem proper to send, taking care that 
the food shall not be so scanty that their hunger is 
only half satisfied. This is one of the essentials in 
the care of those who are sick either in body or mind, 
for invalids often grow worse from lack of food. But 
there should be no luxuriousness, by which they might 
easily fall into bad habits. 

And this reminds me of the insane. Since there is 
nothing in the world more excellent than man, nor 
in man than his mind, particular attention should be 
given to the welfare of the mind; and it should be 
reckoned the highest of services, if Ave either restore 
the minds of others to sanity or keep them sane and 
rational. Therefore, when a man of unsettled mind 
is brought to a hospital, first of all it must be de- 
termined whether his insanity is congenital or has 
resulted from some misfortune ; whether there is hope 
of his recovery or not. One ought to feel compassion 
for so greal a disaster to the health of the human 



19 



CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 

mind, and it is of the utmost importance that the 
treatment be such that the insanity is not nourished 
and increased, as may result from mocking, exciting, 
and irritating madmen, approving and applauding 
the foolish things which they say or do, inciting them 
to act more ridiculously, applying fomentations as it 
were to their stupidity and silliness. What could be 
more inhuman than to drive a man insane just for 
the sake of laughing at him and amusing oneself at 
such a misfortune? 

Remedies suited to the individual patient should 
be used. Some need medical care and attention to 
their mode of life; others need mild and friendly 
treatment, that like wild animals they may gradually 
grow gentle ; others, instruction. There will be some 
who will require force and chains, but these must be 
so used that the patients are not made more violent 
by them. Above all, as far as possible tranquillity 
must be introduced into their minds, for it is through 
this that reason and sanity return. 

If the hospitals cannot accommodate all the inca- 
pacitated poor, a home should be built, or several — as 
many as are found necessary. There let them be con- 
fined. Let a physician be hired, and a pharmacist, 
and men and women attendants. You will thus effect 
that which is done by nature and by those who build 
ships : you will have gathered the filth into one place 
so that it may not harm the rest of the body. In the 
same way, let those who are afflicted with a loathsome 
or contagious disease sleep and eat their food apart, 
that loathing may not creep over the rest, nor infec- 
tion, so that there will never be an end of disease. 

When anyone recovers he should be treated in the 



20 CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 

same manner as the rest of the able-bodied benefici- 
aries. Let him be sent out to work, unless out of com- 
passion he prefer to serve others in the hospital with 
his skill. 

For the poor who dwell in their own home let work 
be procured from the public officials or the hospitals ; 
nor will it be lacking among the private citizens. And 
if they find that what they earn by working does not 
suffice for their needs, let as much be added to their 
earnings as shall seem to be sufficient. 

Let the investigators make their examination into 
the needs of the poor humanely and kindly. Let 
nothing be given if the judgment is unfavorable. In- 
timidation should not be used unless they deem it 
necessary in dealing with persons who are refractory 
and who disparage the government. 

Let this law be inviolable : "If anyone have re- 
quested or exerted his favor and influence to obtain 
money for someone under a pretense of need, let him 
not obtain it; nay rather, there shall be a penalty 
such as the Senate shall deem proper.'' Only it 
should be allowable to call attention to anyone who 
is in need. The overseers of charities, or those whom 
the Senate shall appoint, should find out all the rest 
and give alms in proportion to the need. This to 
guard against the danger that at some time in the 
future wealthy men, sparing their own wealth, should 
demand that money which belongs to the destitute be 
expended for their own servants, domestics, relatives 
and friends ; and that favor should begin to shut out 
the needy, as we have seen happen in the hospitals. 



CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 



21 



CHAPTER IV 

PROVISION FOR CHILDREN 

For abandoned children there should be a hospital 
where they may be reared. Let those whose mothers 
are known, be brought up by them until the sixth 
year; thereafter let them be transferred to a public 
school, where they may learn letters and morals, and 
where they shall be maintained. 

This school should as far as possible be in charge 
of men who are possessed of a solid and broad educa- 
tion, that they may pour out their culture into it, for 
nothing has greater danger for the sons of the poor 
than a cheap and low and sordid education. In order 
to secure schoolmasters of this character the magis- 
trates should spare no expense. At relatively small 
cost they will thus perform a great service to the state 
over which they preside. 

Let the pupils learn to live frugally, but neatly and 
cleanly, and to be content with little. Let them be 
kept from all forms of dissipation. Let them not 
grow accustomed to luxury and gluttony ; nor become 
slaves of the belly, so that, when they miss something 
which has been freely supplied, they cast aside shame 
and commence begging, as we have seen some do the 
very moment that mustard, or some such trifle, was 
wanting. 

Let them be taught not only to read and write, but 
above all the duty of a Christian and right ideas 
about things. 

In like manner would I speak of a school for girls, 
in which they may be taught the first rudiments of 
letters, and if one of them is apt at letters and in- 



22 CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 

clined thereto, let her be permitted to advance some- 
what farther, provided everything has in view the 
development of her character. Let the girls be taught 
correct doctrines and piety ; and in addition, to spin, 
sew, weave, embroider, to cook skillfully, and to man- 
age a house ; also modesty, frugality, gentleness, good 
manners, and above all to keep their chastity, con- 
vinced that this is the especial virtue of women. 

Furthermore, let any of the boys who are especially 
apt at letters be kept in school, to be teachers of the 
others, and later on candidates for the priesthood. 
Let the rest learn the trades to which their inclina- 
tion shall direct them. 

CHAPTER V 

J THE CENSORS AND THE CENSORSHIP 

/Let two censors be appointed every year out of the 
Senate, eminent men and of tried integrity, to inquire 
into the life and morals of the poor — boys, youths, 
and old men. Of the boys, what they are doing, what 
progress they are making, what sort of lives they lead, 
what talents they possess, what promise they show, 
and if any do wrong, who is to blame. Let everything 
be set right. 

In regard to the youths and the old men, let the 
censors inquire whether they are living according to 
the regulations adopted for them. Let them inquire 
also most carefully concerning the old women, who 
are master hands at pandering and sorcery; and 
about all these persons, whether they lead a frugal 
and sober life. -Those who frequent gaming places, 
and wine and beer taverns, should be censured. If no 
sort of reproof has any effect, they must be punished. 



CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 



23 



There should be a system of punishments, deter- 
mined separately for each state by its wisest and most 
eminent citizens ; for the same things are not adapted 
to all places and times, and some men are affected by 
some things, others by others. 

The fraud of idle and lazy men must be guarded 
against, that they may not deceive. 
/I would suggest also that the same censors inquire 
about the youth and the sons of the wealthy. It 
would be most profitable to the state if they should 
compel them to render an account to the magistrates, 
as if to fathers, of the manner in which their time is 
spent, what pursuits and what employments they fol- 
low. Tfiis would be a greater charity than to spend 
many thousands of florins for the poor. In ancient 
times this was provided for by the office of Censor 
among the Romans, and among the Athenians by the 
court of the Areopagus. But old customs broke down, 
and it was revived by the Emperor Justinian in sum- 
marizing the duties of the Quaestor, among which was 
included the injunction to inquire in regard to all 
persons — both of the church and secular, of whatever 
rank and fortune — who they were, whence they came, 
and for what reason they were come. The same law 
allowed no one to live in idleness. 



CHAPTER VI 

CONCERNING THE FUNDS WHICH ARE REQUIRED FOR 
THESE EXPENDITURES 

This sounds very fine, someone will say, but where 
are we to get funds for all these things? For my 
part, so far am I from thinking that funds will be 
wanting that I believe with absolute certainty that 



24 CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 

they will so abound that not only the daily necessities 
of life can be met, but also the extraordinary needs, 
of the sort which frequently befall people everywhere, 
in every clime. 

Long ago, as we know, when the blood of Christ 
was still glowing, all the people cast their wealth at 
the feet of the Apostles, to be distributed by them to 
everyone according to his needs. Later the Apostles 
cast off this responsibility as not befitting them ; and 
in truth it was more suitable for them to address 
congregations and to preach the Gospel than to spend 
their time in soliciting and distributing money; so 
this office was given to the deacons. Nor did they 
retain it long, so great was their zeal for teaching and 
spreading the love and knowledge of God, that they 
might hasten on through blessed death to everlasting 
bliss. And so from the funds that were collected 
persons who were strangers to Christianity supplied 
the individual needs of the poor. But as the number 
of Christians increased, and many people not of very 
virtuous character were received into the church, the 
business began to be managed dishonestly by some of 
them. The bishops and priests then, out of love for 
the poor, again took responsibility for the funds col- 
lected for charity ; for at that time there was nothing 
that men did not entrust to the bishops, who were 
men of tried and recognized integrity and fidelity — a 
fact which is mentioned by John Chrysostom. But 
after the first ardor for the blood of Christ had cooled, 
and the Spirit of the Lord was communicated to 
fewer, the Church began to emulate the world and 
to vie with it in pomp, pride and luxury. Jerome 
complains that already the governors of the provinces 



CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 25 

dined more sumptuously in the monastery than in 
the palace. This extravagance required a large 
amount of money. And so the bishops and priests 
diverted to their own purposes what in reality be- 
longed to the poor. Would that the Spirit of God 
might enter their hearts and recall to their minds 
whence they have these things, by whom they have 
been given, and for what purpose ! "Would that they 
might remember that they are become powerful out 
of the substance of the weak ! 

It is the duty of the bishops not only to teach, to 
console, to correct, as far as concerns the souls of men, 
but also to heal their bodies (which they would do if 
their faith in Christ were as great as they wish the 
faith of others to be, for their own advantage; but 
this a common failing — we all severely demand in 
another the very virtue which we ourselves lack) to 
aid the poor out of their own substance, even though 
it be exceedingly small ; in short, after the example of 
Paul, to be perfect in charity, that they may be all 
things to all men, not despising the lowly, but rather 
putting themselves on the same level with them, to 
help them, and, according to the word of Christ, de- 
ferring not to the lofty — for their edification. Bish- 
ops and abbots and other functionaries of the church 
might, if they wished, relieve a very large portion of 
the existing poverty out of their large incomes. If 
they do not wish so to do, Christ will avenge it. 

Tumult and civil discord must be avoided always; 
because this is a greater evil than the misappropria- 
tion of the funds of the poor. No wealth, however 
vast, ought to be so highly prized by Christians that 
they take up arms on account of it. Above all, regard 



26 CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 

must be had for the public peace — as Christ taught, 
and also Paul, following his Master. Nor ought the 
poor to desire that there should be any disorder in 
the state, whereby they may profit, since it is fitting 
that they should be dead to the world, devoting them- 
selves day and night to meditations upon the end of 
this life's journey to that haven and fatherland where 
they may hear: " Lazarus suffered ills in his life- 
time; now, therefore, he is comforted and refreshed." 

Let the annual revenues of the hospitals be reck- 
oned together, and I have no doubt that, when work 
has been assigned to those who are able to do it, not 
only will the income be sufficient for those who live 
in the hospitals, but there will also be enough to share 
with those who dwell without. For I am told the 
wealth of the hospitals in any town you can name is 
so great that if it be properly managed there will be 
abundance for supplying all the needs of the citizens, 
both ordinary wants and unforeseen and extraordi- 
nary. 

Let the wealthy hospitals share their superfluous 
funds with the poorer. But if the poorer hospitals 
are not in need of help, then let the surplus be given 
to those who suffer in secret. And let Christian char- 
ity not only diffuse itself thus throughout the whole 
state, making it as it w T ere one harmonious household, 
with common interests, each member friendly to all 
the rest ; but let it also go forth and embrace the whole 
Christian world, and let it be as we read it was among 
the Apostles: " And the multitude of them that be- 
lieved were of one heart and soul : and not one of 
them said that aught of the things which he possessed 
was his own ; but they had all things common 



CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 



27 



For neither was there among them any that lacked." 
Accordingly, when there are none in their own city 
who need help, let the wealthy hospitals and the 
rich men send their contributions to neighboring 
places, and even to distant ones, where there are 
greater needs. This is in truth what Christians 
ought to do. 

Let tw^o superintendents, respected and God-fearing 
men, be appointed by vote of the Senate for each hos- 
pital. Let them render to the Senate yearly an ac- 
count of their administration. If their performance 
is satisfactory let them continue in office ; if not, let 
new ones be appointed. 

Furthermore, many a man when he dies leaves 
something to the poor, in proportion to his means. 
He should be encouraged to stipulate that money for 
the poor be deducted from the pomp of his funeral. 
Such a funeral would be more acceptable to God and 
not inglorious to men ; for those about to depart this 
life ought to have no concern for glory or praise, 
except from God. And at the funeral meat is given 
out and bread distributed, with money also or other 
things, by ticket. This indeed should be at the dis- 
cretion of those who have charge of the estate of the 
deceased, both on the occasion of the funeral and at 
the anniversary. 

In the next place, if money is left to the church, let 
the overseers of the poor learn in what manner it is 
being distributed, that it may not be given to those 
who have little need of it. 

If all these things are not sufficient, let little boxes 
be placed in the three or four principal churches of 
the town, those in which the attendance is largest. 



28 CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 

In these boxes everyone may deposit as much as his 
conscience prompts. There will be no one who would 
not rather place ten stuferi there than give two 
minutae to wandering beggars. The boxes should not 
be set out every seven days, except when the need 
demands it. 

Two honest and trustworthy men should have 
charge of these boxes, men chosen by the Senate, not 
so much for wealth as for minds free from greed and 
meanness, which is the consideration of highest im- 
portance in filling offices of this nature. 

And the policy should not be to collect as much as 
possible, but generally as much as shall suffice from 
one Sunday to the next, or a little more, lest the col- 
lectors grow accustomed to handling large sums of 
money and the same thing happen to them as has 
happened to some of those who have charge of hos- 
pitals. What takes place in this land I know not, nor 
do I seek to know, for I am intent on my studies — but 
in Spain, I have heard it said, there are many elder 
sons who have enriched their own houses mightily 
from the wealth of the hospitals, feeding themselves 
and their families instead of the poor, keeping their 
own homes full of their relatives, so that the hospitals 
are perforce emptied of the poor. These things are 
the result of facility of access to so much ready money. 

Wherefore, henceforth let no investments be pur- 
chased for the poor, as this furnishes a pretext to the 
directors of the hospitals to keep back the money given 
them, and thus, while the money is being collected for 
investment and while it is being kept until it is proper 
to buy, the pauper wastes away from hunger and 
want and dies. 



2Q 



CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 

But if there is a large sum of money in the hands 
of those who have charge of public charities, let it be 
drawn upon, as I said a little while ago, and sent to 
needier localities. For a great amount of money 
increases desire for it to such an extent that those 
who handle it are more loath to give something from 
it than they would be from a small sum. Let then 
the necessary amount be kept in the possession of the 
Senate, consecrated by oath and laid under bans and 
curses, that it may not be turned to any other use. 
And let it be spent at the first opportunity, that it 
may not become customary to keep any of it long 
concealed. For there will never be a lack of persons 
who need, even as our Lord prophesied : ' ' The poor 
ye have always with you." 

Care should be taken that the priests, under cover 
of their divine office and the mass, do not turn the 
money into their own pockets. They are well enough 
provided for; they do not need any more. 

If at any time the voluntary contributions should 
not suffice, let the wealthy men be approached and 
asked to aid the poor whom God has thus committed 
to their care ; that they (i. e. the trustees of the funds) 
may at least borrow what is needed. And if they so 
desire, let the loan afterwards be returned to them 
in good faith, when alms are more plentiful. 

Besides this, let the state itself deduct something 
from public expenses ; such as those for stated feasts, 
gifts to strangers, entertainment of foreign ambassa- 
dors, largesse, annual games, and processions: all of 
which contribute to licentiousness and pride and am- 
bition. I doubt not that the Prince would be just as 
well pleased, or even a little better, if he were wel= 



30 CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 

corned with less display, provided he knew for what 
good purposes that money was being spent which used 
to be poured forth at his coming. And if he did not 
take it in good part he would ipdeed be childishly and 
foolishly conceited, or silly. / However, if the state 
does not want to do this, let it at all events loan what 
it may later on recover at a season more propitious for 
almsgiving. / / 

Almsgiving should be entirely voluntary, even as 
Paul has said : ■ ' Each man .... according as he 
hath purposed in his heart ; not grudgingly, or of ne- 
cessity. ' ' For no one ought to be forced to do good ; 
otherwise this word (benefacere) perishes. All these 
things will no doubt pour forth abundantly. Yet in 
so holy a business human strength must not be spent 
but reliance must be placed solely on Divine aid. 
The blessing of God will be laid upon righteous under- 
takings, increasing for the rich the sources of their 
charity; and for the poor, the alms modestly asked, 
gratefully received, and prudently dispensed. The 
Lord provides for all : " His is the earth and the ful- 
ness thereof." He creates all things abundantly for 
our use, asking in return only a ready and genuine 
good-will and love in gratitude for blessings so im- 
measurable. 

By how many examples has it been shown to men 
that, when a holy work has been undertaken by a cer- 
tain group, with some anxiety and even despair on 
their part lest the funds provided for it should not be 
sufficient, as the work progressed it has been so 
blessed that even those who have charge of it are forced 
to wonder by what hidden ways the additional re- 
sources have been forthcoming ! You will remember one 



CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 



31 



experiment, illustrative of many, in your own school 
for poor boys, which you founded ten years ago with 
this condition, that not more than eighteen boys 
should be maintained there. You feared that you 
would not have money enough to maintain this insti- 
tution. Now a hundred boys, more or less, are sup- 
ported there, and the funds are grown so large that 
there is enough left to help even more, and when extra 
boys arrive, there is something for them to eat. Surely 
it is by the universal bounty of God that they are 
maintained, are fed, live and grow, and not by riches, 
nor their own strength, nor by human counsels. 
Wherefore, in pious undertakings it is sacrilegious to 
consider how T much you can do ; consider rather how 
much faith you have in Him to whom all things are 
possible. 

As to the poor themselves who are not in actual 
distress, let them learn not to make much provision 
for the distant future, for this increases their sense of 
security and diminishes their reliance on God. Let 
them not rely on human assistance but on Christ 
alone, who has exhorted us to relinquish all care for 
our sustenance to Him and His Father, who feeds and 
clothes those creatures that neither sow nor reap nor 
weave nor spin. Let the poor lead as it were an 
angelic life, given up to praying, first for themselves, 
and after that for the welfare of those by whom they 
have been aided, that the Lord Jesus may deem them 
worthy to receive recompense an hundredfold in ever- 
lasting blessings. 



32 CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 

CHAPTER VII 

CONCERNING THOSE WHO SUFFER FROM SOME SUDDEN 
OR SECRET MISFORTUNE 

Now relief must be given not only to the poor who 
are without the ordinary necessities of life, but also 
to those upon whom some sudden misfortune has 
fallen, such as captivity in war, imprisonment for 
debt, fire, shipwreck, floods, disease; in fine, any of 
those innumerable accidents which may bring dis- 
aster to respectable homes. To these unfortunate per- 
sons may be added young girls whom poverty very 
often drives to prostitution. For it is not tolerable 
that in any state — I will not say in any Christian 
country, but in any nation where men live after the 
manner of men, — that when some of the citizens so 
abandon themselves to extravagance as to squander 
thousands of gold pieces on a sepulchre or a palace or 
a useless edifice or a banquet or a public office, for 
lack of fifty or a hundred florins the chastity of a 
virgin or the health and life of an honest man should 
be in danger, or a man should be forced to desert his 
wife and little children. Then, too, captives must be 
ransomed, which has been mentioned also by the an- 
cient philosophers as one of the noblest forms of char- 
ity : e. g., by Aristotle, Cicero, and others. First con- 
sideration must be given to those who suffer a cruel 
servitude among enemies, like the Christians who are 
in the power of the Hungarians ; who are in daily peril 
of renouncing the faith. Likewise the traders and those 
who have fallen unarmed into the hands of the enemy ; 
for those who are armed, since they are the cause 
of all the ills of the others, deserve the least pity. 



CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 33 

Of those in prison the first to consider are those who 
have fallen into poverty and bankruptcy through mis- 
fortune rather than through their own fault, and next 
those who have been kept in custody a long time. 

A man who has been dragged down from easy cir- 
cumstances into misery through no fault of his own 
must be greatly pitied, whether because he represents 
the common lot and stands as it were as an example 
of the experiences of other men, or because he suffers 
the more acutely who keeps a lingering sense of 
former happiness. 

Men of good education should not have to wait 
until they make known their needs. They should be 
hunted out and assisted secretly. It is recorded that 
Arcesilaus (many others also have done likewise) 
placed a large sum of gold under the pillow of a 
sleeping friend, who was both poor and sick, and who 
concealed both facts from a feeling of shame, in order 
that, on awaking, he might find relief without any 
injury to his sensibilities. For in administering 
charity to a man who has been tenderly reared, care 
must be taken not to wound his pride, which is apt 
to be of more importance to him than the relief, how- 
ever acceptable and however useful that may be. 

The same men to whom we have assigned the over- 
sight of the parishes shall also investigate concealed 
wants of this nature and report them to the Senate 
and to the wealthy men, at the same time withholding 
the names of the sufferers and the amount of relief 
given. On the other hand, it is better if even these 
poor would accept charity openly, that they may know 
whom they have to thank, and that there may be no 
suspicion on either side, as for instance, that those 



34 



CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 



through whom it is given have embezzled some of the 
money, — unless the rank of the destitute man be so 
high that he ought not to be exposed to such risk of 
disgrace. 

" But/' someone will object, " if men of this class 
must be helped, too, will there ever be any end of 
giving ? ' ' ( What more blessed situation can be im- 
agined than that there should be no bound to charity ? 
You have spoken a horrible thing. I thought you were 
about to lament that there may at some future time 
be none to whom you may show compassion. You 
ought indeed to wish, for the sake of others, that there 
may be no one who stands in need of the wealth of 
others; but for your own sake, that you may never 
lack the opportunity for so great profit to yourself, 
securing eternal blessings in exchange for things per- 
ishable and subject to varying fortunes. 

It seems to me, as matters stand, that these sug- 
gestions of ours ought to be carried out. Perhaps it 
may not be expedient at all times and in all places 
to do everything we have prescribed. Wise men in 
every country will recognize this and will consult the 
best interests of their respective states. The aim I 
have outlined, however, the intention and goal, will, I 
believe, be expedient and necessary always and in all 
places. But if it shall not be expedient for all these 
things to be done at once, because an established cus- 
tom perchance opposes the innovation, it will be pos- 
sible by using ingenuity to introduce the more mod- 
erate reforms first, and after that gradually those 
which will be considered more radical. 



CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 



35 



CHAPTER VIII 

CONCERNING THOSE WHO WILL CONDEMN THESE NEW 

PROPOSALS 

Albeit virtue is most beautiful for herself and most 
desirable, nevertheless she has not a few enemies, who 
are deeply offended by her bearing and by her integ- 
rity, and also because she attacks their vicious habits 
and their dissipated life fiercely and without compro- 
mise. Thus the world has always fought and will 
fight always with the law of Christ, whose shining 
glory the shades of sin and the weak eyes of sinners 
cannot withstand nor endure. So, in the matter 
under discussion, although — as anyone, provided he 
be not an unfair critic, will judge — everything has in 
view the supplying of the wants of men and the relief 
of the destitute, nevertheless even though the motive 
is so altruistic there will be no lack of persons to 
misinterpret and object. 

For certain men, when they hear that the idea is 
nothing else than that the poor should be eliminated, 
suppose that they are being banished (in person) and 
cry out against the inhumanity of thus evicting the 
wretched ; as if forsooth we would drive them out, or 
do anything to make them more miserable. This is 
not our purpose, which is rather to deliver them from 
their struggle with poverty and perpetual misfor- 
tune ; to treat them like human beings who are worthy 
of compassion. 

There are some would-be theologians, who cite the 
passage from the Gospel, with no thought for the con- 
nection in which it was spoken, in which Christ our 
Lord prophesied: " The poor always ye will have 



36 CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 

with you. ' ' What of that ? Did He not also prophecy 
that there would be sins ? And Paul, that there would 
be heresies? Shall we, therefore, not help the poor, 
nor avoid sins, nor resist heresies, lest these be found 
to have spoken falsely ? God forbid ! Christ did not 
prophecy that the poor would be always with us be- 
cause this was His desire, nor that sins would be com- 
mitted because He liked them. For He recommends 
nothing to us more explicitly than the relief of the 
poor, and He condemns him by whom offense cometh. 
But He knew our stupidity, through which we sink 
into poverty; and our malice, through which we do 
not straightway raise up the fallen man but allow him 
to lie and waste away. It is for this reason that He de- 
clares we shall always have paupers. The same thing 
may be said of the prophecy in regard to sins. And 
Paul spoke with the same intention about heresies, 
which he knew would arise because of the corrupt na- 
ture of men, defiled as it is with many vices. Yet He 
wished them to be resisted when they arose, as he said 
to Titus : c 6 That the Bishop may be able both to ex- 
hort in the sound doctrine, and to convict the gain- 
sayers." Therefore, in these sayings Christ does not 
command us to act in this way, but He sees that we are 
bound to do so. In the same way these proposals of ours 
will not eliminate poverty but will relieve it ; will not 
prevent a man from becoming a pauper but will pre- 
vent him from remaining long in that condition, by 
promptly stretching forth a hand to help him to his 
feet. 

I wish we might bring it to pass that there should 
be no poor in this city. I should not fear that Christ 
would be thought to have spoken falsely. There would 



CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 37 

remain plenty who would be poor in other respects. 
It is not only those without money who are poor; but 
whoever lacks strength of body or health or capacity 
or judgment, as we explained at the beginning of this 
work. Moreover, he must also be called poor, even in 
money, to whom either in a hospital or in his cottage 
delicate food is brought, which has not been obtained 
by his own industry and labor, but through the kind- 
ness of another. Tell me, which act more inhu- 
manely, those who leave the poor to rot in their filth, 
squalor, vice, crime, shamelessness, immodesty, igno- 
rance, madness, misfortune, and misery? Or those 
who devise a way by which they may rescue them from 
that life and bring them into a more social and cleaner 
and wiser mode of living, with a clear gain to the state 
of so many men who were formerly useless ? And thus 
we do even like the medical profession, which cannot 
eradicate diseases completely from among men, but 
which bends every effort to cure them. Would that 
the law of Christ were more deeply rooted in our 
minds and hearts, and that it might be more efficacious 
than medical knowledge ! Then it might come to pass 
that there would be no paupers among us, as there 
were none in the early church, according to the ac- 
count of Luke in the Acts of the Apostles, — nor any 
sins nor heresies ! 

But because our sins will encumber us and men 
will profess the name of Christians not so much in 
their hearts and by the actions of their lives as by 
their mouths ; therefore, never will paupers, offenses, 
and heresies be lacking. 

Then furthermore, there will perchance be some 
men, as there are apt to be in public bodies, who, in or- 



38 CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 

der that they may be considered wise and may acquire 
great influence by reason of that reputation, approve 
nothing except what they have themselves proposed. 
Surely these men have an erroneous idea not only of 
men but also of God, if they believe, and wish others 
to believe, that God has been impotent in all His other 
acts of creation, but has poured out upon them all the 
mental power of ingenuity and judgment and wis- 
dom ; as Job said in mockery : i ' Are you then the 
only men, and shall wisdom die with you ? ' ' I would 
not deny that there are some men who have such 
initiative and skill and keenness of judgment, that in 
thinking and in deliberating they strike out more ideas 
than the rest of mankind. But to think on that ac- 
count that what has been conceived by oneself is best 
is indeed the part of an arrogant man, and moreover 
of one without experience, as Terence says, of one 
" who judgeth nothing rightly done but that which he 
doeth himself." 

There are two classes of men especially whom I ex- 
pect to find hostile to our plans : first, the very ones 
whom this philanthropy is chiefly intended to bene- 
fit; and, second, those who will be ousted from the 
management of the funds. 

For there are some who have grown so accustomed 
to their squalor and filth and misery that they take it 
most ill when they are raised out of it, captivated as 
they are by a certain sweetness of inertia and idleness 
until they think activity, labor, industry, and frugal- 
ity more painful than death. Oh, hard is the task of 
doing good among these, since their depravity trans- 
lates kindness into injury ! What more odious than to 
receive charity haughtily, as if you have been offended, 



CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 39 

and to interpret it as an insult ? This offence is very 
like that of the Jews, who persecuted with death the 
Author of life, because He showed them kind- 
ness, helped them, brought them health, salva- 
tion, and light; and who showered insults upon 
Him in return for His most lavish charity 
toward all men who would accept it. And as they, 
immersed in pride, arrogance, ambition, avarice, 
thought it an affront to be freed from these exacting 
masters; so these others, buried in squalor, filth, 
shame, idleness, crime, think they are being dragged 
into slavery if their condition is improved. We will 
emulate the true Christ, who was not turned aside 
from doing good by the ingratitude of those who re- 
ceived His bounty. 

Nor must we take into consideration what a man 
would like to have, but what it is good for him to have ; 
not what pleases him, but what is expedient for him. 
He will recognize the kindness when a better frame 
of mind returns to him. Then he will say: " The 
Senate of Bruges saved me even against my will/'' 
But should you indulge him and fall in with his de- 
sires, if ever even for a moment he recover his sight 
and reason, he will without doubt say : ' ' The Senate 
ruined me by loving-kindness." For this is the com- 
plaint which every son who is indulged too freely 
makes of his father. The poor man so indulged will 
hate those by whom he has been helped to his destruc- 
tion. That it may not be thus, let us treat them as ex- 
perienced physicians treat delirious patients, or wise 
fathers their young children; let us seek their true 
good, however much they fight and cry out against it. 
In fine, it is the duty of the ruler of the state not to 



40 CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 

be disturbed by what one or another or certain few 
think about the laws and the administration, provided 
he has consulted the common benefit of the body of 
the entire state. For laws are of benefit even to the 
evil-doers themselves — correcting them or checking 
them in their evil-doing. 

But indeed, as to those who have been used to 
handle the poor funds, — they will be annoyed that this 
office should be taken from them. The high-sounding 
words which they look for, to exaggerate the enormity 
of the proposal, are always something like this : Things 
that have been established by the sanction of so many 
years must not be touched; it is dangerous to intro- 
duce new customs; the stipulations of the founders 
must not be interfered with; everything is on the 
brink of ruin. 

To these we will reply, first : Why may we not hope 
that good customs will weaken the evil which has been 
brought about by vicious customs? They will not 
dare get deeper into that argument. Then we will 
ask which is better, what we are attempting to intro- 
duce, or w 7 hat they wish to retain ? Furthermore, 
if nothing ought to be changed, why have they them- 
selves gradually altered the first regulations estab- 
lished by the founders of the institutions to such a 
degree that those now in force are in actual conflict 
with the original ones? Let the records be unrolled, 
let the memory of old men be questioned: it will be 
discovered how much the present method of adminis- 
tration differs from that which prevailed when the in- 
stitution was new, while the founder was still alive 
or had only recently died. Here we have them at the 
crucial point. We do not wish the original plan to 



CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 



41 



be changed. We will not permit the intention of the 
founder to be violated, for in every will this is the 
first, nay, the only thing, to be considered. The orig- 
inal plan may be discovered from the records and 
from the memory of many citizens. And as for the 
intention of the founders, who does not understand 
that these men left their money and endowments, not 
that the rich might be glutted, but that the poor might 
be supported, to pray for the souls of their deceased 
benefactors that they might be washed clean of the sins 
of earth and received by God into those celestial 
dwellings ? 

Now, if our opponents raise too much opposition 
they will certainly stand convicted of looking out for 
their own affairs and their own interests instead of 
those of the poor. Since we undertake the responsi- 
bility for the poor, and yet they oppose it, what is 
it, anyway, that they have in view? If it is their 
own affairs, they stand convicted of avarice and make 
it clear that they have managed things for their 
own advantage and not for the poor. And this 
avarice is not only ignoble but absolutely pernicious 
and detestable. For since it is a crime to steal any- 
thing from a wealthy man, how much more nefarious 
is it to take anything away from a poor man ! It is 
money which is stolen from the rich man; from the 
poor man, life. 

If, however, it is the poor for whom they are con- 
cerned, let them know that the Senate wishes that the 
poor be aided more generously than they are now 
aided. Is it any concern of theirs by whom this is 
done, provided only it is done, and done as well as 
possible? Just as confidence has already of old been 



42 CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 

placed in the well-known fidelity of the Senate. ' ' That 
Christ may be preached," said Paul. "In what man- 
ner, I care not, provided only that Christ is 
preached. ' ' But they wish to have charge of the work 
themselves. If they have respect to God, they will 
joyfully acquiesce ; but if to men, their ambition has 
been found out. Moreover, will they dare to com- 
plain because you do not offer yourselves as minis- 
ters of their ambition and avarice? As a matter of 
fact, if you keep silence, are you not abetting them ? 
I will pass over the other things which might be said 
on this point, if their administration during a long 
period of years were examined. I will not enter into 
this bog; I will not stir up this mire. But in truth 
they will have no small glory, if they do not oppose 
these measures, if they do not clutch the money en- 
trusted to them and deposited in their keeping, but 
instead advance the interests of the poor, and devote 
themselves to promoting the harmony of the state, 
and prove themselves so much the friends of the pub* 
lie honor that they consider it their own personal pos- 
session. 

CHAPTER IX 

NOTHING OUGHT TO STAND IN THE WAY OF CARRYING 
OUT THESE PROPOSALS 

Many eloquent words have been spoken by pagans 
on every sort of virtue, and many deeds of weight and 
dignity have they done. Yet never have they borne 
themselves so firmly, so bravely, so worthily, as when 
loyalty to their country and love of their fellow-citi- 
zens was so implanted in their hearts that they en- 
dured misrepresentations, unjust accusations, curses, 
and insults with undisturbed and resolute minds and 



CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 43 

were not turned a hair's breadth on that account from 
their determination to help their country, — even when 
the very ones who would be most helped censured and 
condemned their actions. 

Conspicuous among this number are Miltiades, 
Themistoeles, Scipio, and above all Epaminandos the 
Theban, and Quintus Fabius Maximus of Rome, who, 
when he perceived that Hannibal could be crushed 
not by force but by delay, protracted the war by de- 
laying action, knowing that this was the only hope 
of victory. Many idle and craftily quarrelsome men 
complained of his action, saying that he was doing it 
by agreement with Hannibal or from ambition, that 
he might be longer in power, in the chief office of the 
state, or from cowardice, or from fear that they would 
try to deprive him of his power. As a matter of fact, 
Minucius, Master of Horse, was made equal to the 
Dictator by popular vote, a thing which had never 
been heard of before. The old man, undaunted by the 
calumny and folly of his fellow-citizens, persevered in 
his undertaking and brought deliverance to his coun- 
try, which Hannibal undoubtedly would have con- 
quered if the strategy of Quintus Fabius had not 
thwarted him. The result proved how great a mind 
that hero possessed, what sagacity he had, what love 
for his country and his fellow-countrymen, so that 
these little verses about him have been universally 
popular, ancient and crude though they are, yet elo- 
quent and enthusiastic in their praise : 



"Unus homo nobis cunctando restituit rem, 
Nam non ponebat rumores ante salutem : 
Ergo magisque magisque viri nunc gloria claret." 

Others of a like temper performed noble deeds, even 



44 CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 

though they regarded not God and for them the sun 
of Christianty had not arisen, and they were merely 
acting as they had been taught or seeking fame and 
glory for their country. How much greater and nobler 
ought our actions to be, who have beheld the one 
Christ and who despise, yea, disdain and scorn human 
power ; for whom that most glorious sun has dawned ; 
who have been reared in the true faith; to whom 
charity has been commended and commanded, with a 
heavy penalty if we neglect the command and a great 
reward if we execute it, a reward which will be the 
greater in proportion to the suffering we endure for 
the grace of God. 

Therefore, this plan must not merely be approved, 
but it must be adopted and carried out, for it is not 
enough to have good intentions, unless you also put 
your hands to the work when occasion offers. It is 
not fitting that those who are urged and spurred on 
by divine commands should be held back by human 
obstacles, especially since benefits will follow both to 
the state and to the individual, both material and 
spiritual. 

CHAPTER X 

THE MATERIAL AND SPIRITUAL ADVANTAGES WHICH WILL 
RESULT FROM THESE MEASURES 

Great is the glory of the state in which no beggar 
is seen. For a great multitude of paupers argues 
malice and heartlessness in the citizens and neglect of 
the public weal by the magistrates. 

Fewer thefts, acts of violence, robberies, murders, 
capital offences, will be committed; less frequent 
will be pandering and sorcery. Seeing that poverty 



CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 45 

will be alleviated, which drives men first into vices and 
bad habits, and then encourages and provokes such 
crimes as these. 

Greater peace. Where everyone is provided for. 
Greater concord. When the poor shall not envy the 
rich, but shall esteem them as benefactors, and when 
the rich shall not turn away from the poor in sus- 
picion, but shall esteem them as the object of their 
bounty and of the charity which is their due. For 
nature demands that we bestow love also upon those 
to whom we give alms. Thus love begets love. 

It will be safer and more healthful and pleasanter 
to attend the churches and to dwell in the city. 
Since the hideousness of ulcers and diseases will not 
be inflicted everywhere on the sight, a spectacle revolt- 
ing to nature and even to the most humane and com- 
passionate mind. 

Nor will those of small means be forced by impor- 
tunity to give alms; and if a man feels inclined to 
give, he will not be deterred either by the great multi- 
tude of beggars nor by fear of giving to some one 
unworthy. 

An enormous gain to the state. There will be just 
so many citizens made more virtuous, more law-abid- 
ing, more useful to the country, and they will all hold 
that state dearer in which, or by means of which, they 
are maintained. Nor will they participate in revolu- 
tions or seditions, when so many women have been 
rescued from shame, so many girls from danger, so 
many old women from evil-doing. Boys and girls will 
be taught letters, religion, temperance, self-support; 
things which form the basis of a good and honest and 
pious life. Finally, all of them will regain judgment, 



46 CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 

sensibility, piety. They will live among men like citi- 
zens, disciplined, observant of human laws ; they will 
keep their hands pure from acts of violence ; they will 
serve God truly and honestly ; they will be men ; they 
will be what they are called, Christians. What else is 
this, I ask, than to have restored many thousands of 
men to themselves and to have won them for Christ ? 
For indeed that is heaven's gain, that the souls of 
many shall be freed from their superstition. 

There are some who know that they ought to dis- 
charge the duties of charity, yet do not perform what 
has been commanded, now because they are repelled by 
the unworthiness of the applicants, now because their 
good intention is embarrassed by the great number 
and they are drawn in opposite directions, as it were, 
uncertain where first or most effectively to bestow 
their money, since they see so many oppressed by want 
that in a sort of despair they succor no one, feeling 
that whatever they give will be too little, as if you 
should sprinkle a little drop of water here and there 
on a great fire. But if our plan is adopted, those who 
have means will give more readily and more 
bountifully, rejoicing because things are so care- 
fully and so scrupulously managed that they may 
be sure their contributions will be well placed, 
so that they will help men, and execute the 
commands of Christ and win His abundant favor. 
Nor is there any doubt that from other cities also, 
which have not in like fashion made the affairs of the 
poor their concern, many wealthy men will send con- 
tributions hither, where they know the funds are 
wisely spent and aid given to those most in need. Add 
to this, that God will protect as His own a people so 



I 



CONCERNING THE RELIEF OF THE POOR 47 

charitable, and will make it truly blessed. Hear what 
sort of nation can properly be called blessed, accord- 
ing to the testimony of no ordinary man but of a 
Prophet : 

Rescue me out of the hand of strange children ; whose 
mouth hath spoken vanity; and their right hand is the 
right hand of iniquity: 

Whose sons are as new plants in their youth : 

Their daughters decked out, adorned round about after 
the similitude of a temple : 

Their storehouses full, flowing out of this into that. 

Their sheep fruitful in young, abounding in their goings 
forth : 

Their oxen fat. 

There is no breach of wall, nor passage, nor crying out 
in their streets. 

They have called the people happy, that hath these 
things ; but happy is that people whose God is the Lord. 1 

Nor will temporal blessings be lacking, according 
as it is written of the widow who gave food to Elias. 
Thus, too, the Psalmist sings of that state in which the 
Lord dwells : ' ' Blessing I will bless her widow : I will 
satisfy her poor with bread." 2 

And in another place he says, speaking to the same 
state : "Who hath placed peace in thy borders: and 
filleth thee with the fat of corn." 3 

Verily, an increase of mutual love surpasses all 
things; and will be brought about by dispensing 
charity on all sides, joyfully and simply and openly, 
without suspicion of unworthiness ; and hereafter we 
shall obtain that celestial reward, which we have 
shown is prepared for alms springing out of charity. 



1 Latin Vulgate translation. 
8 Ps. 132, 15. 3 Ps. 147, 14. 



Revised Version : Ps. 144, 11-15. 



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